Nonmetallics

Shipping lines in the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WSTA) have agreed on the need to raise freight rates on shipments of plastic scrap from the United States to Asia.

Effective Oct. 1, 2004, WTSA has recommended increases of $100 per 40-foot container (FEU) and $80 per 20-foot container (TEU) on plastic scrap shipments from points of U.S. origin to all destinations in Asia.

The scheduled rate increase reflects the rising demand and the increased carrier costs associated with scrap plastic shipments. U.S. containerized plastic scrap exports to Asia during first half 2004 totaled 26,000 FEU, up 11.9 percent from first half 2003. China accounts for just more than half of that total, or 13,600 FEU, which is up 12 percent from the first half 2003.

The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, headquartered in Oakland, Calif., is a research and discussion forum of 13 major ocean container shipping lines that carry cargo from ports and inland points in the United States to destinations throughout Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

The Polymer Alliance Zone’s (PAZ) Technology Park has received a check for $4.3 million from West Virginia’s Economic Development Grant Commission.

The development corporation will use the money, along with $100,000 from the zone itself, to purchase a former distribution center. The PAZ will have a 25-year lease and functional control of the building.

The building will serve as an end-of-life electronics recycling center and a recycling research center.

Wood County Commission President Rick Modesitt says the center provides an opportunity for the county to be a leader in what will be a growing industry "that will probably attract business from other states."

GreenMan Technologies Inc., Lynnfield, Mass., has completed its acquisition of all tire collection operations of American Tire Disposal Inc. (ATD), a Southern California company in the business of collecting and marketing scrap tires. GreenMan will consolidate ATD’s business into its existing California operations.

"The addition of these collection operations will both complement our crumb rubber manufacturing business and diversify our overall business, providing a platform for continued growth," GreenMan’s California V.P. Jim Dodenhoff, says.

Thanks in part to such acquisitions, Boston Business Journal has named GreenMan to its annual list of the100 fastest-growing public companies in the Boston area. GreenMan is ranked 41st based on revenue growth from 2001 to 2003.